Summary: 

Welcome to the soil signatures course! This course is aimed at helping students understand the very tangible effect that different soil types can have on the flavours we encounter in the glass. 

Do vineyard soils based on certain rock types provide a distinctive sensorial signature to the wines grown on those soils?  Might all wines grown on limestone soils, for example, have a certain style, weight and texture which distinguishes them from wines grown on soils derived from granite, from schist or from volcanic rock types?  This is one of the key strands of terroir: the notion that a wine’s fundamental character derives not from winemaking techniques or varietal choices, but from its place of origin. 

Soil signatures, if they exist and can be defined in this way, are just one strand of terroir.  Climate (macro-, meso- and micro-) and topography – which with soil constitute the specifics of site – are no less important; indeed it is climate and topography that make a site viable for viticulture in the first place.  The precise weather characteristics of a particular season are also hugely significant (‘climate’ is the long-term pattern; ‘weather’ is the particular iteration over a season).  Local cultural traditions are also important: terroir only comes into existence when vineyards are planted, vines are tended and wines are made, yet these practices vary markedly from place to place.   

For all that, soil is regarded in the wine world as ‘the essence of place’.  Consequently soil signatures haunt the wine-drinking imagination, and soil is often (wrongly but tenaciously) regarded as being synonymous with terroir itself.  

The Wine Scholar Guild’s Soil Signatures Webinar Series sets out to explore this vitally important and timely subject in depth.

There are 8 videos in total, the first four are here in Part One and the last four are in Part Two here. You can also find attached Brenna’s powerpoint presentations to download if you so wish. 

Contents:

Part One:

• Geology & Terroir
• Clay
• Limestone, Chalk & Marl
• Slate & Schist

Part Two:

• Volcanics
• Sandstone & Sand
• Gravels & Rolled Pebble Terraces
• Granite

We really hope you enjoy working your way through this course!  

About the Speaker: 

Brenna Quigley is committed to thoughtfully applying the science of geology to the world of wine through both education and hands on vineyard investigations. 

She works with wine professionals in all areas of the trade, from growers in France to importers and buyers in the US, in order to precisely define the most impactful elements of their terroirs in a relevant and approachable manner. 

Brenna received her Bachelor’s Degree in Aquatic Biology and Geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2012, where she stayed on to earn her Masters in Geology with Dr. Phil Gans in 2015. Her research focused on geologic mapping and structural geology (how and why rocks deform). She has also worked extensively in the mining industry where she further developed her skills in geologic mapping and interpretation, soil sampling, and geophysical surveying. 

During her time at UCSB, Brenna spent her free time exploring the wine country of Santa Barbara, and began working at her favorite tasting room on the weekends. It was there, working with Seth and Magan Kunin that she fell in love with the wine industry and the complex concept of terroir. 

Recently, Brenna has had the great privilege of working with The Source Imports as well as Becky Wasserman & Co. to explore and research the terroirs of France. Her current projects take her all over the world from her backyard at Domaine de la Côte in Lompoc, CA, to further investigations in Spain, Austria, Germany, and Italy.